The future which golf had long prophesised arrived in emphatic style at
Hoylake yesterday. Jiyai Shin won the Ricoh Women's British Open to make it
an Asian-clean sweep of the female majors in 2012.

In fact, this was seven in succesion for Asia and, appropriately enough, it wasn’t even close. Shin, who followed up her victory in 2008 at Sunningdale, won by a record nine shots, reminding observers of Tiger Woods at the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach by recording the only score under par.

“It was a long, long, very tough day,” said the Korean. “I thought my skill was not good enough for this links but now I think this course was made for me.”

What a performance this was by Shin, in conditions which were hardly inviting. The contestants completed a 36-hole marathon yesterday after 60mph winds had cancelled Friday’s action. Hoylake was playable but still awfully demanding, as all of the scorecards proved — apart from Shin’s.

She went into the day five clear after a stunning second-round 64 on Saturday – the lowest score of the week by four – and won the £265,000 first prize with rounds of 71 and 73.

Those hauled the 24 year-old to nine-under-par for what was her second victory in seven days. Last Monday she beat American Paula Creamer after a nine-hole play-off at a LPGA event in Virginia.

What made it all the remarkable was Shin’s two-month break this summer following surgery to remove a broken bone in the palm of her left hand. As if to prove South Korea’s dominance, Shin’s compatriot Inbee Park was runner-up. Creamer finished third after playing the last four holes in four-under, courtesy of an eagle and two birdies.

Shin’s glory wasn’t as easy as it sounds. During the morning’s third-round she saw her advantage trimmed to one shot by Australia’s Karrie Webb after 10 holes. Shin proceeded to birdie the next three.

The Atlanta-based golfer then began her final round with a triple-bogey seven as the weather worsened, but remained in control as Webb dropped two shots herself at the same hole and followed with two bogeys.

Birdie putts from 20 feet and 15 feet at the sixth and seventh widened Shin’s lead to seven and the only issue at that point appeared to be whether she would have to come back this morning to finish the job.

A torrential downpour as she reached the turn left her with a mangled brolly, but after a replacement was found, play was suspended because balls were moving on another green.

Fortunately, the hold-up was for less than 10 minutes as the gale passed and, on the resumption, Shin never looked in the remotest danger. The bid of the world No 1 Yani Tseng for an unprecedented third successive win in the event was over long before the Taiwanese ran up a quintuple-bogey nine at the 14th.

The 23 year-old, very much part of the Asian success story with five majors already in her career, closed with a 79 for joint 26th place on

11-over. Scotland’s Catriona Matthew, the winner at Lytham three years ago, finished as the leading home player in a tie for 10th on seven over. Lydia Ko, the 15 year-old, was the leading amateur. The Korean-born Kiwi finished on nine-over, two better than Cleethorpes’ Holly Clyburn.

In Turin, Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño picked up his sixth European Tour title after he fended off the challenge of Garth Mulroy to win the BMW Italian Open by two shots.

The Spaniard did not drop a shot in the final round, while his South African counterpart will rue the sixth and 17th, where he picked up bogeys.

Fernández-Castaño’s 24-under total was all he deserved. “It felt like matchplay out there and I’m delighted to have come out on top,” he said. “It feels very special to win this tournament again. I knew it would have to be a low round to win and so it proved.”

Nicolas Colsaerts provided cheer for the European Ryder Cup captain, José Maria Olazábal. The Belgian tied for fifth after an eagle on the fifth hole.